Instead of a plebiscite, Leader of the ALP Bill Shorten and his colleague Senator Penny Wong argue that the Australian people cannot be trusted and that there must be a parliamentary vote on the issue of same-sex marriage.

Shorten and Wong also argue that the LGBTI community fully supports the campaign to change the marriage act to allow gays and lesbians to marry.

Wrong on both counts. The reality is that a significant number of LGBTI people are not committed to a long-term, monogamous relationship symbolised by the institution of marriage.

Based on two recent national surveys, “Private lives: A report on the health and wellbeing of GLBTI Australians” and “Monopoly: A study of gay men’s relationships”, it is clear that a large number of LGBTI people prefer a more fluid and transient lifestyle.

The first survey concludes: “Only a small percentage of men and women (between 5-10 per cent) reported formalising the relationship with a marriage or commitment ceremony, while most others had no wish to do so.”

When discussing relationship status, the report also notes: “It is of interest that the majority of male respondents (52 per cent) and 39 per cent of women indicated no intention or wish to formalise their current relationship.”

The second survey reaches a similar conclusion: “Only a minority of men indicated they would like to marry their primary regular partner.” In relation to men with multiple partners, as might be expected, the percentage answering “yes” to the question, “Would you marry [your] partner?” sits at 11 per cent.

In addition, by rejecting the concept of popular sovereignty, one of the cornerstones of our Westminster parliamentary system, it is clear that Shorten and Wong consider themselves above the people, supposedly, as it is only the Canberra political elite that can decide such weighty issues.

Ignored, as so succinctly put by Abraham Lincoln, is that a truly democratic government must be of the people, by the people and for the people. The quickest road to breed apathy is to deny individuals the right to express their point of view.

While Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull favours a plebiscite, a policy endorsed by the Australian people in a survey earlier this year, Senator Wong fears that any public debate will lead to gays and lesbians being vilified and attacked.

Wong argues: “I oppose a plebiscite because I don’t want my relationship – my family – to be a subject of inquiry, of censure, of condemnation, by others.”

After appearing to take a neutral stance before the 2013 election, more recently, Shorten also argues a plebiscite will encourage homophobia and hate speech.

Both ALP luminaries are wrong to argue that those supporting heterosexual marriage are bigoted and guilty of overblown rhetoric. Judged by the action of those supporting same-sex marriage, the opposite is the case.

Katherine Hudson on the newmatilda.com website argues that those opposed to the LGBTI Safe Schools program and equal rights for LGBTI people share the views of “many dictators, despots and despicable leaders, including Putin, Kim Jong-un, Mugabe and ISIS terrorists”.

Bill Shorten provides another example in his description of Senator Cory Bernardi as a “homophobe”. After Tony Abbott spoke at an American anti-same-sex marriage conference, Greens Senator Robert Simms condemned him as a bigot wanting to spread “the flames of division in our country”.

Instead of weighing the arguments, the cultural left’s default position is to engage in ad hominem attacks where supporters of heterosexual marriage are condemned as “homophobic”, “heteronormative”, “bigoted” and, worst of all, “Christian”.

It is also the case that advocates of same-sex marriage, like Tasmania’s transgender activist Martine Delaney, think the best way to enable debate is to threaten critics like the Catholic Bishops into silence by lodging a complaint with Tasmania’s anti-discrimination tribunal.

Not only is Delaney’s action a threat to free speech but it also portends the type of unfair discrimination critics of same-sex marriage will face, especially those with a religious view, as they attempt to argue their point of view in the public space.

It is ironic that while Shorten and Wong argue in favour of same-sex marriage many in the LGBTI community show no real interest in the issue. It is also ironic that, after being elected as servants of the people, they both wish to deny one of the basic tenets of democracy – the right of citizens to vote on issues that go to the core of what constitutes Australian society.

The ALP’s arrogance and refusal to support a plebiscite is best epitomised by German playwright Bertolt Brecht’s comment about the refusal of the communist East German government to listen to the people. Brecht wrote: “Would it not be easier in that case for the government to dissolve the people?”

Ninety-seven per cent of Australians identify as heterosexual and they have every right to express their opinion on whether the institution of marriage, one of the bedrocks of a stable, peaceful society, should be so radically redefined.​Dr Kevin Donnelly is a Senior Research Fellow at the Australian Catholic University. An abridged version of the above was published in The Daily Telegraph on August 24, 2016.

Every child comes from and needs BOTH a mother and a father. Same-sex "marriage" intentionally keeps either a mother or a father from the child. Government should protect the child through upholding traditional marriage.

The Freedom FilesScoops, suggestions, submissions: SubmissionsA news aggregator blog​ collated by Craig Manners covering the defence of truth, marriage, children, family, fathers, freedoms of speech, religion and conscience in the West. These good things are worth fighting for, so please share, tweet, email, letterbox drop, start blogs, email and visit politicians, and talk with your family and friends until the threat is defeated.Western freedom is under imminent threat. The enemy is at the gates, they have gained control of education, universities, media, political parties. It will be a long and draining battle to regain lost ground, but it can be done, as it has been done throughout all previous attacks.

​Our forefathers fought bad ideas and ideologies last century so we could be free today.We have taken this freedom for granted. Please defend Australia against the bad ideological experiment of today, the anti-freedom rainbow political ideology imposing intolerant changes on our society such as same-sex "marriage," homosexual promotion, recruitment and indoctrination at schools, and gender confusion.

​Encouraging the normalization of homosexual sex acts, especially to children, by changing Australian marriage laws does not serve the public good in any way, nor does it benefit our nation's children.

​Every single human being has an innate dignity, worth and value and should be respected. That dignity is weakened by encouraging wrong behavior. Governments have a duty to restrain behavior which is bad for people and society, not to normalize it and unleash the consequences on the wider society.

For the record, TrueMarriageEquality.com, (an aggregator site of news and articles covering the attempt by the ideological and political LGBTI movement to take over Australian society) is not anti-anyone and has no phobia against anyone. We are for people, and we especially seek to defend children, who need BOTH their mother and father if at all possible.. We recognize there are serious consequences from following wrong paths in life and desire to speak up about some of these wrong paths/bad ideas/assaults on good society and freedom. We simply desire to: defend and preserve marriage, mainly for children’s sake; stop the indoctrination of children and youth into harmful sexual practices; speak against the sexualization of children; speak against the gender confusion movement; warn of an impending major health crisis in our society from following wrong paths; prevent the further abolition of our society’s moral foundations; and defend truth and freedoms of speech, religion and conscientious objection. .

Expose the Lie, Defend the Truth.​This blog is not against homosexual people in any way, but rather seeks to defend children and freedom against the tyranny of the consequences of wrong behavior and the political ideology behind the same-sex "marriage" movement, a Marxist movement imposing its worldview at the expense of any other views. Just as people can be against Islam but not against Muslims, so people should be free to be against homosexual sex, ideology and lifestyle while not being against homosexual people. As former Australian Prime Minister John Howard wisely says, "There is nothing homophobic about supporting traditional marriage."

This Blog simply mostly gathers and re-posts emails, articles, comments, quotes, and links from around the web and other news sources to help expose the modern deception called "Marriage Equality," a legal Trojan horse which could dismantle our free society from within by effectively silencing our moral foundations which have served us so well and imposing a Marxist ideology on our once young and free nation.

This movement seeks to change our marriage law thus teaching and promoting something which goes against most people's conscience and beliefs, let alone common-sense. If successful there will have to be major growth of big (i.e. Totalitarian) government, government imposed and enforced definitions of morality, and a major decline in many personal freedoms. Other minority groups will then demand legal "equality."

Most importantly it is not good for children to deny them a mother or a father. Children need protection from bad ideas, bad ideologies and from adults seeking to harm them. So, if for no other reason, please defend traditional marriage for the sake of the children. Remember, you too were once a child.